The Lodha Report about Cricket

The Lodha Committee consists of retired judges, Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice R.V. Raveendran was established by the Supreme Court in January 2015.

The Lodha Report about Cricket

The Lodha committee established by the Supreme Court has recommended a complete take apart of Indian cricket, from the very top down to the common sort level and influencing each stakeholder. Its report presented to the court and made public, covers every visible feature of the game with a special focus on the BCCI’s management and governance structures and the issue of clarity.

The most vital set of recommendations aims at changing the entire power structure in the board. It has changed the BCCI’s electorate to one association per state; some states have three associations and delete the vote from associations without territorial definitions (e.g., Railways and Services). Living up to its agreement of regaining the “purity of the game” and restoring the respect of the players, the Lodha Committee has advocated sweeping reforms in the structuring and governance of cricket in the country. The three-member panel presented its report to the Supreme Court .One of the most notable suggestions the panel makes is the formation of different governing bodies for the Indian Premier League and the Board of Control for Cricket in India and suggested setting up of a Players’ Association to safeguard the interests of the cricketers.

The Lodha Report about Cricket

The Lodha Report about Cricket

Most importantly, it has suggested clear and stringent ability criteria for the board’s office-bearers and set the time limits to their office. Ministers and bureaucrats will not be permitted to take positions on the board, nor will those holding positions in their state alliance. Suggesting a constant constitution for the Board and its affiliates, the panel works toward to reduce the number of members in the all-powerful Working Committee to nine from 14, with the president, vice-president, joint secretary, secretary and treasurer framing up the office-bearers. As a result, there will only be one vice-president instead of five.

It is recommended, that strength of the IPL Governing Council should be reduced to nine and it comprising of two representatives from the franchisees, nominees of the Players’ Association and the Comptroller & Auditor General’s branch.

The Players Association, to be created by the Board, should include G.K. Pillai as the chairman,the former Union Home Secretary, Mohinder Amarnath, former India players , Diana Edulji and Anil Kumble as members of the Steering Committee.

“The PA would not act like a union, and all the costs of running the association would be spent by the BCCI,” Justice Lodha introduced at a press conference after releasing the report.

There will now be five voted office-bearers – president, secretary, one vice-president rather than the current five, treasurer and joint secretary and they will perform a maximum of three terms of nine years in each position. Also, they will not be able to appear two consecutive terms each must be broken by a “cooling-off” time. And the president’s powers have also been restrained: he has no longer an additional vote at meetings, nor does he has right a say in team selection.

Moreover, clipping the current set-up’s wings; Justice Lodha’s report has exchanged the Working Committee, the BCCI’s biggest decision-making body, with a nine-member Apex Council, which will comprise of representatives from the players’ community including one woman. There will be a nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General, to keep an eye on how the board’s vast resources are being used. The panel, in a notable departure from the past, recommends that one individual get only one post in cricket administration. The office-bearers would have to select between positions in respective state associations and the parent body.

The Lodha Committee also calls for allocated the governance into two parts: cricketing and non-cricketing.

“The non-cricketing association will be handled by six professional manager’s control by a CEO, and the cricket matters like coaching, selection and performance appraisal should be left to the players,” explained Justice Lodha.